TOKYO/CHICAGO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Japan on Monday agreed to
allow U.S. beef imports from cattle up to 30 months old from
February, relaxing a restriction in place for about a decade on
what was once the biggest market for U.S. exports.

Under rules imposed in 2005, U.S. beef imports had been
allowed only from cattle up to 20 months old after a total ban
in 2003 following an outbreak of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy. The restrictions helped Australia boost its
share of Japan's 500,000-tonnes-a-year imported beef market.

Raising the age restriction, which had been mulled since
2011 as concern over mad cow disease ebbed, will allow U.S.
exporters such as Cargill Inc and JBS USA Holdings Inc
to regain lost market share in the world's No.2 beef
importer.

U.S. meat exporters say the step brings Japan into line with
other countries.

But the Consumers Union of Japan said on Monday that it
opposed the move due to concerns over lax checks on animal feed
and product shipments in the United States, adding that Japan's
government had underestimated the risks.

A government panel of medical and food experts agreed to
relax the restriction after Health Minister Norihisa Tamura left
the decision to the panel. Tamura has said it would become
effective on Feb. 1 upon the panel's approval.

A health ministry official said Japan and the United States
had agreed to keep talking about further loosening regulations
longer-term.

The country's imports of U.S. beef plunged by 60 percent to
some 120,000 tonnes from 2001 to 2011, with Australian suppliers
the main beneficiaries in an import market worth over $2
billion.

At 10:10 a.m. CST (1610 GMT), CME spot February live cattle
were up 1.675 cents, or 1.43 percent, at 127.975 cents
per lb.

Steps by Japan to bring in more beef were "friendly" for the
futures market and the industry as a whole, but many traders and
industry analysts had anticipated such a move for some time,
said Joe Ocrant, president of Oak Investment Group.

While some have speculated that changes by Japan could be
worth hundreds of millions of dollars in exports of U.S. beef to
the Asian country in the coming years, others are cautiously
optimistic about the near-term impact.

The expected rise in U.S. beef shipments could encounter
headwinds with Japan in the midst of a significant recession,
said Jim Robb, director of the Colorado-based Livestock
Marketing Information Center.

Also, the yen has been declining relative to the U.S.
dollar, making imports more expensive, he said.

"Furthermore, wholesale beef prices will be record-high in
2013 because the U.S. cattle supply is still shrinking, and
those higher prices tend to reduce sales. Still, it could be a
net positive in terms of U.S. beef exports to Japan in the
months ahead," Robb said.